Nearly a fifth of university students are unhappy with their degree courses, a major poll reveals today.

The annual National Student Survey found the happiness with the quality of courses in England has stalled this year.

Some 19 per cent of full-time, final year undergraduates in England said they were not satisfied with the quality of their course this year, the same proportion as last year.

Students at Buckingham University, a private institution, were happiest with their course, giving an overall rating of 95 per cent.

A number of institutions in England were given overall satisfaction ratings of 93 per cent, including the Open University, Oxford and Medway School of Pharmacy.

Some 91 per cent of students taught at Cambridge were happy with their courses.

Overall, 81 per cent of full time undergraduate students at universities in England were satisfied with the quality of their courses, the survey, published by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), revealed.

At the University of York, 86 per cent of students said they were satisfied with their course, down from 88 per cent the previous year.

York St John University mirrored the national average, with 81 per cent of students happy with their courses, a rise of one per cent on the previous year.

Some 87 per cent of students at the Hull York Medical School – a partnership between the Universities of Hull and York and the NHS in the region – said they were satisfied with their student experience, a fall of three per cent from the previous year.

Taking into account students studying at all types of universities and further education colleges in England, the satisfaction rate was 82 per cent.

Students were asked about every aspect of their university experience, including questions on teaching, assessment, support and resources.